ScoobyDoo and the Curious Case of the Sea Creature
by ElisabethCarter
Summary: Mystery, Inc. goes on vacation in the mountains near Coolsville Lake. They were expecting a break from mysteries, but when a mysterious creature makes it's home in the watery depths, can they find out what's happening? Review, please! Part of my series.
1. Fishing Fiasco

Thank you so much for reading this. If you've read the last few chapters of my last story than you know that I'm super tired but can't fall asleep due to crazy nightmares. Consequently, I've been writing insane amounts of Scooby-Doo fanfiction, including this little story right here. Bear with me, guys. I know it's not great but this is the only way I can occupy myself so here it is. P.S. I would really appreciate it if you would review and tell me what I can improve!

_Chapter 1 Fishing Fiasco_

Fred Jones was in the middle of a very interesting fight. He was brawling with Dennis Smith, a boy from Coolsville who had recently been flirting with Daphne Blake, Fred's best friend who needed constant protection. Fred punched Dennis square in the nose, causing a stream of blood to gush out. Fred was clearly winning the fight when Daphne interrupted them. She shouted for the guys to stop their argument, saying that she had chosen which of them she wanted.

"Dennis," she said with a smile, leaping into the boy's muscular arms. She lifted her head higher and her lips met his as they shared a very passionate kiss in front of Fred

"No!" the blonde boy shouted, opening his eyes and sitting up. "It was all a dream," he assured himself quietly. "Nothing happened between Daphne and Dennis. It was all a dream." Fred looked around him, seeing that each one of his close friends were still sleeping soundly, undisturbed by his yelling.

Mystery, Inc. was taking a little vacation up at Coolsville Lake, a body of water a few miles north of the town. There, they had rented a cabin and were enjoying the scenery, everyone claiming that it was a bonding experience. The real reason for this was that each member of the gang was trying to take a small break from all the exhausting mysteries they had been dealing with. The next few days were supposed to be filled with relaxation and peace, though this so often has proved to be impossible when it comes to this particular bunch of teenagers, for the seem to be mystery magnets.

The next morning Fred was sore and tired. He hadn't been able to fall back asleep after his vivid nightmare. Consequently, he was in a bad mood. (A/N: Story of my freaking life! :( Oh well, on with the story!)

"Fred, breakfast is ready," Daphne called from the kitchen.

"I'm not hungry," he snapped, realizing that this probably wasn't a smart thing to do. He was trying to keep Daphne with him, not scare her off.

Luckily, she seemed to find his temper amusing and chuckled. "Somebody's grumpy," she said.

Fred couldn't help but laugh a little as well. "Sorry, I didn't get too much sleep," he explained. "Nightmares."

Daphne nodded in understanding. "Me, too."

Fred furrowed his eyebrows. What would Daphne possibly have nightmares about? He decided not to ask, for this might lead to conversation on his bad dream, and he definitely didn't want to tell her about that. Luckily, he was spared from any discussion on that topic as Velma Dinkley, the mastermind of the group, and Shaggy Rogers, the coward, walked in, carrying that day's paper as well as some firewood.

Velma and Shaggy were laughing merrily and standing very close to each other, causing both Fred and Daphne to give suggestive looks. This made Velma blush and Shaggy lengthen the distance between them.

Scooby-Doo, their lovable Great Dane, bounded over to Shaggy and tackled him. Shaggy laughed and stroked the dog's fur as he handed the newspaper to Velma.

"Anything interesting happening?" Fred asked in between bites of the eggs and bacon that Daphne had prepared.

Velma raised her eyebrows as she read. "Actually, there is. It says here that a nearby bank was robbed. The burgular got away with three million dollars! Get this: the police chased them all the way up to Coolsville Lake!" she said excitedly. "Then, both the money and the robber disappeared."

"Mysteries just seem to follow us wherever we go, don't they?" Daphne commented, picking up Fred's plate and washing it.

"Well, do they, like, know who did it?" Shaggy asked.

"Yes, it says here that the suspect was Peter Russell," Velma informed him.

Shaggy grinned triumphantly. "See? They know who did it. Case closed, mystery solved. Nothing for us to possibly investigate."

Everyone laughed at Shaggy's comment and went back to what they were doing. Daphne and Fred were talking, Scooby was snoozing on the rug, Shaggy was eating everything in the pantry. But Velma couldn't help but think that they never caught Russell, so maybe there could be something to investigate after all. She knew how much everyone needed a vacation, though, so she kept her mouth shut.

A few hours later, Scooby and Shaggy grabbed their fishing gear and went out to the lake. They baited their hooks and cast them into the water, enjoying the tuna sandwiches that Daphne had prepared for them. Suddenly, Shaggy felt a very firm tug on his line.

"Like, check it out, Scoob," he said to his dog. "I caught a big one!"

Shaggy tried to reel it in, but whatever type of fish it was had more strength. Scooby tried to help his friend, but the two were still having difficulty. Eventually they noticed some rippling at the surface of the water as something was emerging.

What they saw next frightened them into silence. Out of the water came some sort of mutated fishman. It's body was covered in scales and fins. It had bulging eyes and webbed fingers and toes, and it was clearly bipedal. The creature rose slowly from the lake and began to walk toward Scooby and Shaggy, who began running as fast as they could. They never turned around to see if it was following them.

When they finally reached the cabin, both the boy and the dog were out of breath.

"What happened?" Velma asked, worried.

"Rea creature," Scooby managed to say. He was panting heavily and pointing toward the lake.

"Like, it came out and...and came...toward us," Shaggy said between breaths.

The rest of the gang immediately looked back at the giant body of water in time to see a large, fish-like head going back underwater.

"That's not possible," Velma whispered.

"Well, gang, it looks like," Fred began, but he was cut off by Shaggy.

"Like, don't say it, man." The scrawny boy sighed. "I can't believe it! Even when we're on vacation we have to solve a mystery."


	2. Crazy Encounter with a Creepy Man

I know you're all probably getting annoyed with me for posting so many stories but I kind of have nothing else to do. So here you go: Chapter 2! Yeah, I'm sure none of you care what I write up here and you just want to get back to the story. Or maybe you don't like my stories and you're reading this to make fun of them. If that's the case, I don't really like you. :P And if you're one of those people who just skips over this part, then you're mean! Blah! It doesn't matter what I say about you if you're one of those people because you're not even reading this. So I'm kind of talking to myself. Which is wierd. I know. Well, _anyway_...I'm done talking now. Back to the story!

_Chapter 2 Crazy Encoutner with a Creepy Man_

After an hour of convincing as well as a whole box of Scooby Snacks, Shaggy and Scooby finally agreed to join the rest of the gang in their search for the sea creature. They all decided to talk to some of the local residents to see if they knew anything about the monster.

"I wonder if this has anything to do with the bank robbery that happened near here," Velma said slowly.

"How would a sea monster and a bank robber be related?" Daphne wondered, not seeing any sort of connection.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Velma responded, though she thought it was awfully strange how close the two events occurred.

A few minutes later, the whole group was packed into the Mystery Machine, on their way to the small shop that was located right on the edge of the water. In the car, they tried not to discuss the mysterious creature too much, fearing that it would frighten away Scooby and Shaggy. This would be unfortunate because they were quickly running out of Scooby Snacks to bribe the two cowards with. So, instead of talking about the monster, Fred questioned Daphne vigorously about Dennis Smith while Velma and Shaggy discussed what had been happening on their favorite show "Warehouse 13." Scooby occupied himself by sniffing out their food and quickly devouring every last crumb.

"Okay, guys, we're here," Fred told everyone as they pulled up, expecting to find a quaint little shop.

Instead, they were greeted by a frightening sight. The small shack had been attacked. Everything inside had been torn from it's shelf and broken. On the outside of the small store, someone or something had tried ripping off the sign that hung above it.

"What are you doing?" someone called to them. It was a squat elderly gentleman with dark grey hair pulled back into a low ponytail. He wore a strange Hawaiian shirt and khaki pants. "I asked you punks a question," he said when no one answered him.

"We saw some sort of sea creature earlier today," Fred explained, realizing how insane he sounded. "And we were wondering if you could tell us anything about that."

The man nodded grimly. "I'd never seen the creature before the past few days. He was just a local legend that we used to tell, a ghost story of sorts. No one really believed in it until yesterday when he came up and attacked my shop. He's been scaring off anyone who's come near the lake. I don't know what made the creature so angry, and I'm not sticking around to find out. I came here to collect the last of my things from this shop, and then I'm out of here."

"Do you know anyone who can help us figure out what's going on?" Velma asked, pushing her glasses up higher on her nose.

"Joe Sterling, he lives right there," the man replied, pointing to a small home a few yards away. "He'll probably be able to tell you more."

The kids all turned away and began to make their way to Joe Sterling's place. It was located very close to the lake, though it remained untouched while the small shop had been completely ruined. Velma was beginning to wonder if this Joe Sterling character was somehow involved in all this sea creature buisiness.

Fred knocked on the door a few times before it was answered by a fourty year old man with black hair and equally dark eyes. The man was wearing an old green coat, a burgundy turtleneck and worn jeans that had smears of greenish slime all over them.

"May I help you?" the man said, smiling deviously.

Fred stood closer to Daphne, ready to jump to her rescue if this creep tried to grab her, for that seemed like something this man would do. "Um, yes, we're looking for Joe Sterling," Fred said, praying that this scary man wasn't in fact the person they were looking for.

Unfortunately, he wasn't so lucky. "That's me." The man looked down at Daphne and gave her a hungry smile. "Come in," he said. "Can I offer you anything?"

Daphne, officially creeped out, scooted closer to Fred and tried not to make eye contact, though this man was constantly staring at her.

They all sat down in what could be called a living room. There were no lights so the dim rays from the sun gave the place an eerie look. Everything looked old and water-damaged as though Sterling had fished it all out of the lake. The whole place looked rather shady.

"So what is it that you kids want to know?" Sterling asked.

"Could you tell us about the sea creature?" Velma inquired.

Sterling laughed wickedly. "Ah, yes, the monster that guards the lake. He has lived in there for millions of years, protecting his territory from all those who seek to invade it."

"But why would it start attacking people now?" Daphne asked.

"Because, my dear, it is only awake every one hundred years," the man explained. His shallow eyes rested upon her figure for a while, causing Daphne to shrink back into Fred, allowing his arm to rest protectively over her shoulder. "That is why. If you are wise, you will stay away from the water until he sleeps again," he finished in an ominous tone.

Just then, the sound of splashing water permeated the building, causing Shaggy and Scooby to shake with fear as the others rushed to a window to see what was causing the noise. It was the sea creature, making it's way toward Sterling's house. Surprisingly, the man didn't seem bothered. Instead, he began to laugh like a mad man and stared evilly at his guests.

Fred towed Daphne along as he ran toward the door. Shaggy and Scooby had already carried Velma out and now all of them were heading back toward the cabin where they would be safe from the mutant.

As soon as all the doors and windows were securely locked, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was one shady man," Velma commented.

"Yeah, he gave me the creeps," Daphne added, shivering at the thought of how Sterling had looked at her during their meeting. "He didn't even seem remotely disturbed when that creature started walking toward his house," she said suspiciously, looking at Velma to confirm that this was a logical observation.

"Like, he was definitely _disturbed_," Shaggy said. "But he didn't mind that he was about to become fish bait."

"But how could he be involved in any of this if he was there with us when we saw that..._thing_...walking out of the water?" Fred asked. "I mean, I agree that that man was a unhinged and totally checking Daphne out even though there's a _huge_ age difference. He was definitely a creep, but he's not the sea creature."

Everyone sighed. So far, all they had learned was that the monster was some million year old legend that awoke from it's slumber every century to scare away tourists. That didn't really help them at all, so they decided to just wait until morning to investigate further.

* * *

How'd you all like it? Review and let me know!


	3. An Unwelcome Visitor

Note to anyone who takes the time to read this: You're awesome! Thank you.

_Chapter 3 An Unwelcome Visitor_

That night, all of Mystery, Inc. slept badly, plagued with dreams of the creature that had ruined their vacation. Fred tossed and turned, fearing that the monster would some how drag Daphne down into the depths of the lake. Velma was afraid that it would come into their cabin and wreck the place just as it had done with the shop by the water. Shaggy and Scooby were both having nightmares about being used as live bait to catch the sea creature. Daphne nearly let out a scream as she imagined that the creepy man had jumped out of the shadows, ripping her away from Fred and offering her to the fish-person.

She awoke with a start, hearing the eerie sound of water spalshing in the distance (A/N: That's basically what I'm hearing right now and I don't know where it's coming from). Daphne walked over to the window that looked out over the lake, hoping that she wouldn't see the terrible creature. Thankfully, it wasn't out at that hour. Oddly enough, Sterling was. He had just looked around, as if to check that no one was watching, and darted inside.

"That's strange," Daphne thought out loud.

"What is?" Fred asked.

The sound of his voice in the otherwise silent cabin made her leap with fright. She punched him in the arm. "What the hell, Fred? You scared me!"

Fred laughed softly, noticing how jumpy she seemed to be. "I'm sorry, Daph," he said, leading her over to the couch. They each curled up on opposite ends of the small sofa, their feet touching. "I just saw you standing by the window and when you said, 'That's strange' I was curious to know what you were talking about," he explained.

"Oh, right," she said, remembering what she had seen before Fred scared the living daylights out of her. "Sterling was creeping around by the water," she told him. "Then he looked around to make sure he was alone and went back inside his house. There's something off about him. I didn't like the way he kept looking at me."

Fred smiled. "Maybe he's planning to kidnap you," he teased.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Daphne responded seriously.

"Daph, I was kidding. No one is going to kidnap anyone."

"But if they did decide to keep one of us hostage, it would be me," she told him, looking upset. "Why am I the one that all the people decide to take prisoner? Do I have this sign on my head that says, 'Damsel in Distress waiting to be captured?'"

"No, Daphne, it's just that people assume that gorgeous girls are also the weakest," Fred said without thinking. He then realized what he had said and blushed crimson, truly grateful that the darkness prevented his companion from seeing this. "I mean, we know that you're not weak at all but not all the bad guys know that."

Daphne smiled lightly. He thought she was gorgeous. For several moments, that was the only thought that rambled through her head.

The next morning, everyone was exhausted but motivated to figure out if this monster was real or just another spook in a costume. They all wanted to believe the latter, though Shaggy repeatedly pointed out that the creature remained underwater for at least an hour at a time. No person can hold their breath for that long.

"And, like, what could possibly be so important in that lake that would make a person, like, stay underwater all day?" Shaggy asked.

"Well, gang, we'll just have to go in and find out," Fred said.

"Like, uh-uh," Shaggy responded, shaking his head vigorously to emphasize how against this idea he was.

"No r'way," Scooby added, imitating Shaggy.

Velma and Daphne sighed in unison, each searching through their luggage and pulling out boxes of Scooby Snacks. Both the boy and the dog immediately grew more eager and, after receiving a few of the treats, agreed to join their friends on their underwater excursion.

Fred drove into town, trying to find someone who would let them rent scuba gear for the day. Each store he visited refused to allow the teenagers to venture out into the lake while the monster was inhabiting it. This was a huge obstacle for Mystery, Inc. If they couldn't find out what the creature was guarding, then how would they be able to solve this mystery?

The gang pondered this as they stood by the water's edge. Velma happened to look at Sterling's house, noticing that he was talking on some sort of walkie-talkie. She wasn't sure what that meant, but had no time to try and find out, for a scaley, webbed hand reached out and took hold of Daphne's ankle. She screamed, "Jeepers!" and clung to Fred as the creature tried to pull her into the lake. It then realized that it wouldn't be able to take her and slowly ascended out of the water, heading right for Velma. Luckily, Shaggy kicked the monster as hard as he could, right between the legs. This caused him to double over and drop to his knees, gasping, and allowing the group to escape. They ran back to the cabin, thankful for being able to get away.

"We still don't know anything that could help us," Velma pointed out.

"Like, we know that thing is a dude," Shaggy told her. Everyone smiled momentarily, recalling Shaggy's kick to the groin that had disabled the beast and given time to flee.

"Thank you for that," Velma said softly, smiling kindly and causing Shaggy's face to become flushed.

"I'd hate to break up your little moment," Fred began. "But we still need to figure out what we're going to do about this whole sea creature situation." He thought for a moment and said, "We could-"

Scooby, who was looking out the windown, interrupted the blonde boy's plan. "Rook, rook, rook," he barked, pointing to the window urgently, fear in his big eyes.

"Like, look at what, Scoob?" Shaggy asked, walking over to his dog. His face went pale, causing the rest of the gang to rush over and see what was so frightening outside the window. "How can he be walking on land? Aren't fish-mutants supposed to, like, stay in water?" he asked, for the creature was walking slowly toward their cabin.


	4. Kicked Out of the Cabin

If you're wondering why I keep writing all these chapters, it's mostly because I'm trying to drown out the creepy noises in my house with the sound of typing. So far, it hasn't been working to well. :( Oh well, it's not like you really care about these little notes up here, so I guess I'll just stop and let you read **_CHAPTER 4_**! I made it sound all exciting by making it look like **_THIS_**. Awesome, right? No, not really. Okay, okay, okay, I'll stop writing this now.  
Oh, before you read, I'm just warning you that I have _no_ idea what's going to happen in this chapter. Enjoy!

_Chapter 4 Kicked Out of the Cabin_

"Hurry," Fred shouted. "Lock all of the doors and windows."

The rest of the group immediately obeyed without a second thought. Shaggy and Scooby began to shove heavy objects in front of all the places where the monster could potentially enter. They were doing a good job, too, until they were distracted by the pantry and began to stuff their faces. Unfortunately, this left a few windows completely uncovered by anything, and, before Fred could push a cabinet in front of one of them, the sea creature punched through the glass and climbed into their cabin.

"Run!" Fred yelled, though no one truly needed to be told this, for they were all sprinting away, trying to find an exit.

Though Shaggy and Scooby's effort to block all entrances had been smart as a preventative measure to keep the creature out, it was also a large obstacle for anyone inside the cabin who was wishing to escape. Fred and Daphne locked themselves in the nearby laundry room while Shaggy, Scooby and Velma did the same in the bathroom. They were all trying to keep the monster away while they unlocked a window that would be used as an escape.

Shaggy, Scooby and Velma's route was the easiest, for the window had been blocked by nothing. They unlocked it and pushed it open, jumping out and landing on a couple of soft bushes below.

Meanwhile, Daphne and Fred were having some difficulty. The two cowards had barracaded their only exit with both the washing machine and dryer, stacked on top of one another. Fred was strong, but he couldn't get the things to budge. With Daphne's help, however, the two were finally able to push the dryer off the top, revealing half of a window. Unfortunately, they couldn't open it.

"Fred, what are we going to do?" Daphne asked nervously as the monster rattled at the doorknob, trying to unlock it (A/N: So basically I just had the same thing happen to my door but no one was outside doing it. CREEPY!).

Before Fred could answer, the creature opened the door. Fred slammed it shut, leaning against it with all his weight, trying to keep the thing from coming in and getting them. Daphne, noticing the dire situation they were in, looked around to see what she could use to help. There was a broom, which she grabbed, using the end to smash through the glass of the window.

"Fred, come on," she said, gesturing to the exit.

"No, you go first," he commanded. "I'll hold this creep off and I'll come right after you." Fred noticed her concerned expression and added solemnly, "I promise, Daph." (A/N: I don't know how to spell solemnly)

She thought over this and nodded, praying that he would be safe from the beast. Daphne dove through the window and managed to fall directly onto a very unwelcoming shrub. She hopped out of the way and, a moment later, Fred came tumbling out after her. She ran over and hugged him. After a brief embrace, the two ran over to the van where Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma were already waiting.

As soon as they were a safe distance away from both the cabin and the lake, Fred stopped driving and pulled over to the side of the road.

"We need to figure out what's going on here," he said. "And I think the only way we can possibly do that is if we catch this creep and ask him." Everyone nodded in agreement. Fred had been thinking about a trap for a while now and he decided that it was the right time to tell his friends. "Alright, then here's the plan."

* * *

Review! Tell me how you like it! Please!

I basically had no idea that whole scene was going to happen. Sorry if this chapter is a lot shorter than my other ones, but I didn't know what else to put in.

That reminds me: I have no clue what Fred's plan to catch the sea creature is. If you have any ideas, and I really hope you do, please let me know by reviewing or sending me a message. That would be great. And I know I should've thought of one before, but I kind of just typed whatever popped into my head and in my head, Fred had a plan, so I had to put it in.


	5. The Trap

Hey, everyone! I'm _super_ excited because a few new people have started reviewing, which means that I have at least five people reading this! Woohoo! Okay, that may not seem very exciting to you, but trust me, it's pretty amazing to me! :) Thanks!

_Chapter 5 The Trap_

The five members of Mystery, Inc. were in their designated places by the lake. Shaggy and Scooby, the bait, were standing by the water's edge, shaking with fear. Their job was to lead the creature underneath a certain tree that was a few yards away. Hiding in the branches were Fred, Daphne and Velma, who would drop a net, capturing the monster before he could get to Scooby and Shaggy.

Everything was in place for when the sea creature would undoubtedly find that two cowards had invaded it's territory. Velma, who was struggling to stay up on the branch, looked over at Sterling's place, noticing that he, once again was muttering into a walkie-talkie. The man came out of his house and began to walk over toward the group of kids. Before he got near enough to say anything to them, a familiar fish-like head popped out of the pristine water, causing both Scooby and Shaggy to emit very high-pitched screams. Velma, who was now paying close attention to Sterling, noticed that he didn't seem bothered that a boy and his dog were about to get dragged into the watery depths of the lake. Instead, he continued to walk calmly toward the them, leaving Velma to wonder what he was up to.

Because the two seemed immobile with fear, Fred had to shout, "Run!" to remind Shaggy and Scooby of the plan. They immediately took off toward the tree where their friends were hiding. As soon as the creature was directly below them, Fred, Velma and Daphne released the net and it fell neatly on top of the moster. Unfortunately, Daphne leaned over, looking down to make sure that they had captured their target. She leaned too far and ended up falling from the branch.

"Daphne!" Fred shouted, reaching out to grab her, though this effort was in vain and the red-head plunged down, hitting a few other branches on the way.

Daphne's fall was luckily broken by the sea creature, squirming in the net beneath her. "I meant to do that," she called up to Fred, who was chuckling at how danger-prone she truly was.

"Get off of me," the sea monster cried, causing everyone to gasp.

"Hey, like, he can talk," Shaggy said, surprised, for the creature had never uttered a sound before that moment.

Before the gang could successfully unmask the villain, Sterling sauntered over. "I'll handle things from here," he told them. "Why don't you kids just hand over the sea creature?"

Fred hopped down from the tree, eyeing the man suspiciously. "Why do you want this guy so bad?" he asked. When Daphne stood up, Fred quickly reached down and tied a rope around their prisoner, preventing any attempts at escape. He then moved the "sea creature" as far away from Sterling as possible.

Sterling noticed that the group was not going to hand over the costumed captive, so he reached out and grabbed Daphne, pulling her against his body so that she was still facing her friends, but could no longer move. He placed one arm around her waist and the other was threatening to crush her neck. Sterling cackled viciously as Fred lunged forward to save her.

"Stay back, or she won't live to see tomorrow," the evil man threatened. He noticed that the gang's full attention was on him. Shaggy, Scooby and Velma were all staring, shock with their mouths hanging open. Fred's glare was so dangerous at that moment that it was impressive that Sterling wasn't cowering with fear. Instead, he laughed again and continued, "Now, let me have that 'sea monster' and I'll let you have the pretty little girl," he told Fred, noticing that he seemed to be the one that was affected most by Daphne being held hostage. No one made a move so he added, "Or, if you don't want her back, I can always keep her." He lifted his hand to stroke Daphne's hair. "Such a nice young thing shouldn't go to waste."

Fred cringed at the mere thought of what the creep would do with Daphne. "Fine," he muttered, going to pick up the "monster."

Right as Fred was about to hand over their captive, Daphne jammed her heel into Sterling's foot, causing him to yelp in pain. Fred saw the man's momentary lapse and leaped forward, hitting Sterling square in the nose and taking Daphne back. He put his arm around her, holding her close to ensure that Sterling would not repeat his actions. Fred also managed to drag their prisoner away from the creepy man.

Sterling, now far more angry than he was before, had a deadly look in his eye as he advanced on the group of teenagers. "Now you're going to get it," he muttered ominously. Sterling lunged forward, reaching for the nearest person: Velma.


	6. Capturing the Creep

_Chapter 6 Capturing the Creep_

Sterling lunged forward, reaching for the nearest person: Velma. Shaggy knew what the man's intentions were and shoved Velma out of the way while Scooby viciously tackled Sterling. Velma got up from the ground where she had fallen and slowly walked over to Shaggy.

"You saved me," she whispered to him.

"L-like, yeah, I guess I did," he responded, grinning and taking a step closer to her so there were only a few inches apart.

Nothing else seemed to matter to the two as the just stood there, looking deep into each other's eyes. Shaggy felt a sudden boldness sweep over him as he daringly leaned closer.

Sterling practically threw Scooby off of him, standing up and stomping toward the scrawny kid who had ruined his plan.

Velma couldn't breathe as she realized that Shaggy was going to kiss her. His lips were almost on hers, only millimeters away. Velma could almost feel the pure joy surging through her when Shaggy was abruptly ripped away from her. Sterling was holding his arm. The man drew his fist back, ready to beat up the boy he was holding.

"Step away from the kid, Mr. Sterling," a masculine voice commanded.

Sterling turned to see who was speaking, for it hadn't been Fred or Scooby. He saw that, standing just a few feet away, was a sheriff, his gun drawn. Sterling glanced over to see Daphne who had her cell phone in her hand. "Damn it," he muttered as he put his hands in the air, releasing his hold on Shaggy.

As soon as the sheriff handcuffed Sterling, he turned to the teenagers before him. "Would you mind telling me who that is?" he asked, gesturing toward the sea creature, who, by now, was also wearing handcuffs around his wrists.

Fred smiled and took the monster's mask off, revealing someone who he'd never seen before. He looked at Velma, confused and hoping she could provide and explanation. Before she got the chance, the sheriff spoke up once more.

"Why, that's Peter Russell, the bank robber!" he said.

"Russell was chased up here after robbing the bank," Velma began. "He tossed the water-proof box full of money into the river so the police wouldn't be able to find it. Then, he found Joe Sterling here and offered him some of the loot in exchange for a safe place to hide. Sterling, being a creepy, greedy man, accepted the offer. Unfortunately for them, Russell couldn't find the money, and he needed a way to scare people off until he knew where it was, so Sterling told him about the legend of the sea creature. Russell would dress up in this costume, and, if anyone ever got too close to the water, Sterling would inform him using a walkie-talkie and the 'sea creature' would make an appearance. That's why Sterling was never afraid of the monster. Also, when he figured out that we were snooping around, Russell came to our cabin to scare us away."

"But how did he manage to stay underwater for so long?" the sheriff asked.

"Simple," Velma replied. She picked up the man's costume. "This disguise is also a diving suit."

"So all this time the sea creature was Russell in disguise?" the sheriff inquired.

"Yeah," Russell spoke up. "And we would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids and that dog."

The gang laughed as Russell and Sterling were escorted to the sheriff's vehicle. Another mystery had come to a close, leaving Mystery, Inc. exhausted but satisfied. They drove home that night, each person quickly making plans. Fred and Daphne were going to get a slice of pizza with Gus Jackson, a good friend of their's. Shaggy and Scooby had invited Velma to their house to watch a marathon of "Psych," one of their favorite shows.

"Hurry up, Velma," Shaggy called to her. "It's, like, starting."

"Alright, alright," she shouted back, carrying a giant bowl of popcorn from the kitchen to the couch. She placed it on the coffee table, sitting as close as possible to Shaggy. She couldn't help but wonder how different things would be between them if Sterling had just stayed down.

"Like, you okay?" Shaggy asked. "You seem a little distracted."

Velma sighed. "Shaggy," she said. "If Scooby had been able to keep Sterling from grabbing you, what would've happened?"

This question caught the boy off-guard. He furrowed his brow in thought, unsure of what to say. He knew the answer: he would've kissed her. But could he tell her that? What if it ruined their friendship? What if she didn't like him like that? These were all questions that were running through his mind at that moment. "I would've...I..." He didn't seem to be able to finish. Instead of telling her, he thought he could just show her. Shaggy leaned forward ever so slightly, but, once again, before he could actually bring his lips in contact with hers, there was an interruption.

A fist was being pounded against his door. Shaggy rose, cursing internally. He turned the knob and looked to see who it was.

"Norville Rogers?" the man on the other side asked.

Shaggy put his hands up in the air. "Like, I swear I didn't do it," he cried.

Meanwhile, Fred and Daphne were standing right outside of the pizza parlor. Their friend, Gus, was waiting at a table for them inside, but neither really wanted to give up this little bit of alone time they had.

"Freddy, thanks," Daphne said to him.

"For what?" he asked curiously.

"For always being there to rescue me," she told him.

Fred smiled. "Daph, I'll never let anything happen to you," he promised. In the afternoon light, Daphne looked absolutely radiant. Her strawberry blonde hair was resting softly on her shoulders. Her crystal clear eyes were sparkling. Fred felt like he couldn't hold it in any longer; he had to tell her how he felt. "Daphne," he began nervously, blushing a little. "There's something I've been meaning to say for a while now. But first, I need you to swear that, no matter what, this won't affect our friendship."

Daphne was confused. "Freddy, nothing's going to change our friendship," she assured him, wondering what he was going to say. _Maybe he has the same feelings for you as you have for him_, a voice in the back of her head suggested. She quickly pushed aside these thoughts, not wanting to get her hopes up.

"Okay." He paused, unsure how to tell her. "I've been having...I, well, I really li...I mean, I just..." Fred wanted to kick himself. How hard was it to say, "Daphne, I think I'm falling for you?" Not very hard at all. He took one last deep breath. "Daphne, I'm -"

"Fred Jones?" a voice asked. "Daphne Blake?"

"Ye-yes," they answerd, confused. The man who asked was a very important-looking detective in a black suit.

"You're going to need to come with us."

Fred and Daphne exchanged a look of bewilderment and fear. What could they have possibly done wrong?


	7. A New Threat Introduced

_Chapter 7 A New Threat Introduced_

All of Mystery, Inc. was huddled in the cheif of police's office. Barbara Kessler, the cheif, was standing before them with sympathetic eyes, realizing that this was just a group of teenagers. The news she had to share with them had been urgent, she she had sent a few of her best detectives to bring them in.

"Have you ever heard of Mr. Morte?" she asked, receiving confused looks from all. "He's a local...maniac, for lack of a better word, who enjoys terrorizing people. Morte, as he calls himself, chooses a person or a group of people that he feels are worthy of his 'test.' Many who have been victims of Morte's 'test' are permanently traumatized."

"What does this have to do with us?" Fred questioned.

"He's chosen you," Kessler told them gravely. She hated to tell such dire news to such young kids. "We received this note a few hours ago."

She handed them a piece of paper that read:

_It's been a while since I've come out to play_

_But don't think I've gone away._

_I've found new subjects in Mystery, Inc._

_They're a lot tougher than you think._

_Soon I shall put them through the test._

_Let's see if they can do better than the rest._

_-Mr. Morte_

Shaggy gulped loudly. "Like, zoinks, that's creepy," he said.

Fred was beginning to fear for his friends. If this man was as crazy as Kessler made him out to be, then what terrible things would he "test" them with? He looked around and noticed that the rest of the gang seemed to be undergoing the same thought process. Daphne rested her head on his shoulder, clutching his arm. Velma and Shaggy were huddled together, enjoying this last bit of peaceful time that they had.

"What does 'Morte' mean?" Velma asked suddenly, as if it were of great importance.

Cheif Kessler sighed. She had been hoping that they wouldn't ask that. "It's Italian for 'death.'"

So this new adversary they were facing called himself Mr. Death? This caused one thought to flow through the minds of every member of Mystery, Inc.: What could this "test" possibly be?


End file.
